gaming-pc advice needed

[legendzlive]

Hi guys

I'm new here and my name is Jimmy.
But first of all, happy holidays to everyone!

So the thing is, I'm finally getting my own gaming computer. I have a €1600 budget.
I'm currently studying IT and am 20 years old.
I know, or at least knew, very little about hardware until recently.

The games I intend to play are;
crysis 2, skyrim , battlefield 3, guild wars 2, gta4, black ops II ...

And I'd really like your opinion on this gaming computer;

Case: CM 690 II Advanced (USB 3.0 version)
PSU: Cooler Master*GX Lite 700

Motherboard: Asus P8H77-V LE or Asus P8Z77-V
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570k 3.40Ghz
CPU cooler: Standard

GPU: EVGA*GeForce GTX 680
Memory: Corsair 16 GB DDR3-1600 Quad-Kit

Hard drive 1: 128GB Crucial m4 mSATA 6Gb/s SSD
Hard drive 2: Western Digital Black WD2002FAEX, 2TB

Wireless:TP-LINK*TL-WDN4800

This gaming pc will mainly be used for gaming. On the sideline I will be using it for programming and a little bit of video-editing ( nothing big )

Personal Remarks;
- I have no clue whether a decent motherboard is required for better gaming performance.(more fps)
- I have no clue if 700W psu is overkill for this set-up or not. ( I do intend to upgrade in the future )
- I know 16gb of ram will pretty much be useless for gaming because there is no game on earth that requires it, but I want it because it looks cool. ( period )
- I was thinking about getting a lower gpu such as amd hd7950, and getting the i7-3770k instead, but I personally don't think it'll be worth the investment, because I will primarily use the pc for gaming and I've read i7 doesn't contribute to that, only useful because of the hyper threading.
- Do I need extra cooling on my cpu because I will be using the pc for gaming or does standard cooling suffice. ( I originally wanted the "Hydro Series™ H80i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler", but i've been told that only usefull if I plan to overclock
- furthermore I know the 'k' version of the cpu is only usefull if you plan to overclock but the Ghz is higher then the version without the K so I decided to go with K. I might overclock it in the future.
- Any advice is welcome.

PS.: For those of you interested in seeing what became of my original build idea -> check my current System Specs

 

[lyndonguitar]

That's a pretty solid build. you should go with it. although I might recommend a non-stock CPU cooler. air or liquid, any will suffice.

- I have no clue whether a decent motherboard is required for better gaming performance.(more fps)
It does not affect it directly, but some motherboards are better overclockers than others, so it can indirectly affect performance. and Some motherboards support multiple GPUs and some do not. If you plan on going multiple GPUs, even in the future, then get one that supports it

- I have no clue if 700W psu is overkill for this set-up or not. ( I do intend to upgrade in the future )
That's more than enough but you should't settle for any less. 700W is just right. with future upgrades in mind

- I know 16gb of ram will pretty much be useless for gaming because there is no game on earth that requires it, but I want it because it looks cool. ( period )
That's fine, RAM is cheap nowadays and you could mess up with the extra ram and use it as ramdisk

- I was thinking about getting a lower gpu such as amd hd7950, and getting the i7-3770k instead, but I personally don't think it'll be worth the investment, because I will primarily use the pc for gaming and I've read i7 doesn't contribute to that, only useful because of the hyper threading.
DO NOT, i5s and i7s are very similar in games performance but GPUs, every single bit matters. GPU is the priority when it comes to gaming.

imo It's better to have an i3 with a HD 7970 than to have an i7 extreme with HD 6570

- Do I need extra cooling on my cpu because I will be using the pc for gaming or does standard cooling suffice. ( I originally wanted the "Hydro Series™ H80i High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler", but i've been told that only usefull if I plan to overclock

Yes you only need it if you plan to overclock(by a lot) or if its very hot in your location

- furthermore I know the 'k' version of the cpu is only usefull if you plan to overclock but the Ghz is higher then the version without the K so I decided to go with K. I might overclock it in the future.

yes the K means it is "unlocked", it has unlocked multipliers, it means you can achieve very high clocks, and those non-K versions cannot be overclocked and thus are "locked"

 

[Crap Daddy]

PSU is overkill if you plan to use only one card and not enough if you want to be safe with 2.
I'd suggest a Corsair TX650 for one card, better than what you picked.
GTX680 is overpriced for what it offers. You can get a factory overclocked GTX 670 for less and it will give you the same performance at 1080p. Or a HD7970 GHz edition.
Get the Z77 Asus, more options there and the ability to overclock your CPU if you want to down the road. For cooling at stock the Intel HSF is enough but since I see you have some budget you can get the Corsair H80

 

[legendzlive]

Thank you both for your fast replies and information!
I really appreciate it. Now I'm finally able to choose for this setup with confidence.

I'll be taking the Corsair TX650 as my psu,
the Asus P8Z77-V as my motherboard, along with the corsair water-cooling.

And if my budget gets exceeded by more than 50 euros I'll get a gtx670 which i'll oc.

Thanks again and merry christmas!

 

[Pehla]

im sry but where do u live??what country?? if u search components on amazon.de u will se that u can go huge build for that budget!!u can go hd7970ghz u can have msi mpower z77 motherboard,with is waaay beter then that from asus u choose and for same price!!
http://www.amazon.de/MSI-MPower-Mai...ROK0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356385254&sr=8-1
well its 15 euro diference but the board is kiler!!
and if u plan to stick with one gpu corsair tx650 is great and if u plan upgrade the go for tx750w
if u search on amazon.de u can get great build for that budget!!i belive they have shiping to whole europe!! cheers

 

[legendzlive]

im sry but where do u live??what country?? if u search components on amazon.de u will se that u can go huge build for that budget!!u can go hd7970ghz u can have msi mpower z77 motherboard,with is waaay beter then that from asus u choose and for same price!!
http://www.amazon.de/MSI-MPower-Mai...ROK0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356385254&sr=8-1
well its 15 euro diference but the board is kiler!!
and if u plan to stick with one gpu corsair tx650 is great and if u plan upgrade the go for tx750w
if u search on amazon.de u can get great build for that budget!!i belive they have shiping to whole europe!! cheers

I know But as I said, I'm a newbie when it comes to hardware.
I can't put the parts together..

And when I have to order all the parts it's also my responsibility to make sure the parts are all working and not broken. While if I let a professional person order/assemble it he has to worry about ordering the parts and making sure they are working.

And I live in Belgium right next to germany that is

 

[Pehla]

cool!! i should come in antwerpen to work in few months!! so i will make my self build for 1500€
i was researching on amazon for quite some time now and for budget of 1500€ will get me 27" 3d monitor!!!corsair h100 ,i5 3570k, hd 7970..
well if u must have someone else build it for u that will cost u maybe 100-200€...
i was looking for out of the box gaming rig...,and the pc that cost 1500€ u can have for 1300€
so if im giving that 200€ it sohuld be on components not some guy taking all the fun!! )

 

[Crap Daddy]

You can put it together yourself. Trust me. Most of the parts work mostly all the time so don't worry. Why don't you pick the parts at best prices around where you live and let's see how much it will cost you. For €1600 you can do much better.

 

[legendzlive]

Case: CM 690 II Advanced € 87,32
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast TX650 V2 € 85,48
Motherboard: MSI Z77 Mpower € 173,99
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770k € 299,95
CPU cooler: Corsair Hydro H100 € 88,23
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 € 375,94
Memory: Corsair 16 GB DDR3-1600 Quad-Kit (IEIF57J4) € 75,09
Hard drive 1: Crucial*CT128M4SSD3 € 144,78
Hard drive 2: Western Digital*WD2002FAEX* € 146,50
Wireless: TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 € 32,90
total: € 1.510,18

You were right of course
I can get i7-3770k + the MSI Z77 Mpower and everything for just 1510.18 ..
If only I could build this thing myself :l

 

[Crap Daddy]

You can. Check for a 7970 GHz edition see how much is that.

 

[Pehla]

http://www.amazon.de/OCZ-VTX4-2SAT3...13?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1356389338&sr=1-13
.............................................................................................
http://www.amazon.de/XFX-Radeon-Gra...1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1356389411&sr=1-1
.................................................................................................
u can even get beter then that!!
................................................................
http://www.amazon.de/Vulcan-Gaming-...1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1356389516&sr=1-2

 

[legendzlive]

sapphire edition 423,32
and the gigabyte edition 406,80

thanks for the help. I might try to build it myself after all. guess I have to buy some anti static wrist gloves too then?

 

[Crap Daddy]

that's the last thing that should be on your mind. I personally don't know anybody who had such a problem. But you might not want to make your build on your carpet.

 

[legendzlive]

Case: CM 690 II Advanced € 87,32 klik
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast TX650 V2 € 85,48 klik
Motherboard: MSI Z77 Mpower € 173,99 klik
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770k € 299,95 klik
CPU cooler: Corsair Hydro H100 € 88,23 klik
GPU: XFX Black Dual Fan Radeon HD 7970* € 353,37 klik
Memory: Corsair 16 GB DDR3-1600 Quad-Kit (IEIF57J4) € 75,09 klik
Hard drive 1: OCZ VTX4-2SAT3-128G Vertex4 128GB interne SSD € 109,24 klik
Hard drive 2: Western Digital*WD2002FAEX* € 146,50 klik
Wireless: TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 € 32,90 klik
total: € 1.452,07

any more suggestions?

 

[xxdozer322]

^looks more than solid. youll tear though games with ease

 

[Pehla]

u dont need that wireles card..,u have one on that motherboard!! lots of cenectivity on that board!!
that is why i recomend it!!
so i nother 35€ spare!!

 

[Dunkhunt]

great build.

I think the 7970 is a newer design then the gtx 680, Go for an overclocked version.

Check the reviews. I think it uses less power. Though the only danger in building it yourself is the cpu. Becareful not to touch the inside the LGA 2011 socket. Its very delicate. Don't put too much thermal paste. Just enough. Search it.

To be safe, stick with a gtx 680. Always check the prices. They change all the time.

 

[acerace]

Want an advice on building your own PC? Check this video from Logan at TS. http://youtu.be/W4Js2A1qdB8

Edit: p/s Logan is awesome.

 

[Hayder_Master]

agree with guys here, forget stock cooler with ivy bridge, take something good and cheep like cooler master hyper 212+.

 

[LiveOrDie]

I would stick with the GTX 680 its a better card I've owned both cards and the 680 just had better driver support also better FPS in games or like Crap Pops said get a OCed 670 will offer just as good performance , Pehla is a AMD fanboy so no shock he would tell you to get a AMD card and not give any reason, Also your better off getting a H100i if you can find one.

 

[drdeathx]

agree with guys here, forget stock cooler with ivy bridge, take something good and cheep like cooler master hyper 212+.

212 will not get him far on a 3770K.

 

[Jack1n]

I would stick with the GTX 680 its a better card I've owned both cards and the 680 just had better driver support also better FPS in games or like Crap Pops said get a OCed 670 will offer just as good performance , Pehla is a AMD fanboy so no shock he would tell you to get a AMD card and not give any reason, Also your better off getting a H100i if you can find one.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7970_X_Turbo/28.html

reff design 7970 GHZ is 4% faster at 1200p than a reff 680 while being 80$ cheaper.

 

[legendzlive]

I'll tell you guys what I bought;

Case: Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced € 78,89
PSU: Corsair TXM Serie PC-Netzteil 650 Watt ATX € 94,49
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 € 120,89
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770k € 315,00
CPU cooler: be quiet! Shadow Rock PRO SR1 Premium CPU Cooler € 47,61
GPU: EVGA 02G-P4-2685-KR NVIDIA GTX 680 € 505,17
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (4X 4GB) € 80,80
SSD: OCZ Tech Vertex 3 Max IOPs Series SSD 240GB interne Fesplatte € 198,43
HDD: Seagate ST2000DM001 interne Festplatte 2TB (8,9 cm (3,5 Zoll), 7200rpm, 64MB Cache, SATA III) € 88,85
Thermal Paste Arctic Silver 5 € 7,90
Totaal € 1.538,03

 

[Jack1n]

I'll tell you guys what I bought;

Case: Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced € 78,89
PSU: Corsair TXM Serie PC-Netzteil 650 Watt ATX € 94,49
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 € 120,89
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770k € 315,00
CPU cooler: be quiet! Shadow Rock PRO SR1 Premium CPU Cooler € 47,61
GPU: EVGA 02G-P4-2685-KR NVIDIA GTX 680 € 505,17
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16GB (4X 4GB) € 80,80
SSD: OCZ Tech Vertex 3 Max IOPs Series SSD 240GB interne Fesplatte € 198,43
HDD: Seagate ST2000DM001 interne Festplatte 2TB (8,9 cm (3,5 Zoll), 7200rpm, 64MB Cache, SATA III) € 88,85
Thermal Paste Arctic Silver 5 € 7,90
Totaal € 1.538,03

You already bought it? you can probably get a better SSD for that price and also that thermal paste isent that good any more.

 

[legendzlive]

As for the h100i cooler, I didn't go with that because of some bad reviews.
People reported it leaking, and I don't want to risk ruining my entire system.
Since I won't be overclocking like a lunatic I'm sure the air-cooler will suffice.

Furthermore I think this setup should be able to handle any game at 1920x1080 maxed settings without an overclock. Now in a week or so it'll be assembly time. Let's hope that goes well.
Will be my 1st computer ever that I put together myself..

and yes I already ordered my parts.
I was told this ssd would be sufficient to last 4 years minimum and is that thermal paste not good enough or what do you mean?
I don't intend to do crazy overclocking or anything.
I'm guessing if it runs on a stockcooler than a custom cooler + thermal paste should be able to keep it at least as cool if not cooler.